


Three of Diamonds: Connection

by teamcalebmalphas



Series: Laven Week (August 7-13) [2]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Laven Week, Laven Week 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 01:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11749572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamcalebmalphas/pseuds/teamcalebmalphas
Summary: Off to scavenge.Bonding and a new romance flourishes. (Spoilers? It was bound to happen eventually)





	Three of Diamonds: Connection

Lavi awoke to a stream of light filtering in through the window directly onto his eyes. Blinking and groaning, he shifted away into shadows so he wouldn’t go blind when he opened his eyes. He almost hit his head when he sat up. Bookman claimed the top bunk last night when Komui showed them their sleeping space, thus Lavi, the taller of the two, ended up on the bottom bunk. Looking around, he saw that most of their cabin mates were gone, probably bright eyed and bushy tailed. Something Lavi wasn’t until well after lunch.

“It’s about time you woke up.” The only other person in the cabin said.

“I’m considering asking what time it is, but I know hoping for an exact answer is futile, so by your best guess, what time is it?”

A pause. “Well, maybe almost ten? If you ask Miranda, she’ll have an exact answer. She has a working watch.”

Lavi quirked an eyebrow at the stranger. His companion was a tall and lean young man with an odd appearance to him. If Lavi believed in them, he’d say this was his first run in with a vampire. He seemed friendly enough. Lavi tried to remember if he was there last night watching the poker game. Maybe… Damn it. His memory was never this horrible. What the hell?

“I’m Arystar Krory.” He held out his hand to Lavi, who accepted it. “But I prefer to go by Krory.”

“And I thought my name was strange. Lavi.”

Standing and stretching, Lavi’s joints cracked pleasingly. “Is there any place I can is some way shower?”

“There’s a water pump behind the next cabin over you can stick your head under, but the showers don’t work and the nearest creek isn’t deep enough to bathe in.”

Lavi sighed. “Well, it’ll have to do. Thanks.” He grabbed his headband and axe before heading out.

The group moved like an amicable hive, smiling at each other when they passed and seeming to know what paths everyone around them were heading, able to avoid collision. Kanda was easy to spot since people parted for him. He must not be a morning person. Or a people person. Oh, Lavi couldn’t wait to screw around with him. He had nerves that needed plucking. Lavi continued on his way, rounding the next door cabin and freezing immediately.

Allen beat him to the pump. Shirtless and pours water over his upper body, Allen didn’t notice him immediately. Scars marred the pale skin of his back, arms, and chest. Each one had a story, together telling the saga of Allen’s experience fighting zombies. Versatile…that’s the word he used to describe himself last night. Lavi fought up close and personal. He knew first hand how easy it was to obtain scars when face to face with a zombie—or a group of zombies. His thoughts distracted him long enough for Allen to finally see him. Raking a wet hand through his white hair, Allen smiled at him.

“Hey, Lavi.”

“Hi,” Lavi’s face burned as he made his way over. Hopefully Allen wouldn’t think anything of it.

“I take it someone told you this is the only way to shower.” One of Allen’s hands rested on his hip.

He scratched the back of his neck, glancing away. “Yeah. I just wanted to soak my head.”

“Would you like me to pump the water for you?” Allen offered. “It’ll be hard to do it yourself if you’re sticking your head under the faucet and trying to pump at the same time.”

Lavi nodded, removing his shirt so it wouldn’t get wet. He knelt down on his hands and knees, head under the faucet. “Okay, go ahead.”

Allen began to pump. The water that flowed onto Lavi’s head wasn’t exactly warm but it wasn’t ideally cold either. If he were being honest with himself, it felt kind of gross. At least he would be cleaner after this…sort of. After a few pumps, Lavi moved to the side, shaking his head and running his hands through his hair quickly to dry it out a little bit. His hair stuck up in every possible direction. When he stood, he caught Allen staring. His new friend looked away swiftly, face growing pink. Lavi smiled to himself as he put on his shirt, positioning his head band in the right spot.

He opened his mouth to comment when he noticed a shadow standing a few feet behind him.

“Beansprout, Komui wants to talk to the two of you.” Kanda directed at Allen.

“My name’s Allen!” He took a breath to calm himself. “Where is he?”

“One of the fire pits.”

With that, Kanda turned on his heel and stormed off, probably to terrorize some kids or something.

“What’s his deal?” Lavi asked while picking up his axe and following Allen.

He shrugged, throwing on his shirt. “He’s been like that since the day I met him. He has a thing for picking on me for my height which irritates the hell out of me. You don’t know anything until you see him with his boyfriend.”

Lavi practically chocked on his own spit. “I’m sorry, what?”

Allen pointed to a guy sitting on a porch swing with a small group of kids surrounding him. He was a literal ray of sunshine. The guy was probably made out of angel feathers and laughter. The kids really enjoyed his company, each of then vying for his attention.

“That’s Alma.” Allen said. “If Kanda is the human equivalent of hell, Alma is heaven.”

Lavi couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of someone like Alma being with a headache like Kanda. How did they stand each other? What did they even talk about? He shook his head, electing to ignore those thoughts for now. Hopefully he’d have the chance to meet Alma and pick his brain about it.

They found Komui with a few others. “Ah, Allen, Lavi. You’re just in time. I’m sending all of you to that church we found a while ago. There may be food inside, perhaps other things we could put to use. It isn’t that far from here so I’ll start worrying about you all if you aren’t back in two days.”

“Inspirational.” Lavi whispered to Allen, earning him a small giggle.

Komui continued. “I expect you guys to get some lunch and then head out. Take enough bags to transport anything you find back here—”

“We know what to do, Komui. This isn’t our first time doing this.” the young girl sitting beside him said. Lavi realized that she was one of the girls playing poker with Allen last night. Seeing them right next to each other, he picked up on slight similarities between them. They had to be related. Probably siblings if he had to guess. She smiled and said, “Plus, we can explain anything to Lavi if he has questions. He looks like a fast learner.”

“Fine. You all can go do what you need to prepare before lunch. After lunch, be sure to let me know you’re leaving.”

Strange. This group was so organized. They went out of their way to keep track of each other. Lavi’s heart stung right in the hole where the absence of anything like that resided. He shouldn’t get used to any of it. He and Bookman would move on soon enough and they would barely be memories to these people. Somehow the thought of that hurt more this time.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He met Allen’s gray eyes. “I’m going to go pack. I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

*** *** ***

Lavi walked at the back of their small group. The girl who Lavi assumed to be Komui’s sister—Lenalee, he later found out was her name—led them with Miranda at her side, the other girl who played poker last night. Krory walked in the middle with Allen and Blondie. His name was apparently Howard Link. Lavi watched them interact with each other as they walked down a dirt path, sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting moving shadows like a kaleidoscope. They were friendly with each other. This was a good group of people, comfortable enough to even poke fun. Krory and Miranda were the most anxious of the group, she more than him, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t lack their own form of confidence. Howard Link was the outsider of the group. That was clear enough to Lavi. He was closest to Allen, so much so that it sometimes irritated him. Not like Kanda did, but he definitely got under his skin that Link was basically his shadow. Lenalee was well-liked by everyone. According to Allen, even Kanda showed her kindness. Lavi felt the pull of her charm. She was sweet and friendly, something he couldn’t imagine anyone being after the beginning of the end.

And Allen…

Plenty in the group liked him too. Unless he joined a poker game. That’s when he became the least favorite group member. Allen’s smile was contagious, as was his confidence. Lavi was alone with a group of people he’d never had to depend on for protection and merely being in his presence lightened his outlook. Allen even brought his golden retriever with them, the dog walking with Lavi. He’d gone with the name…Timcanpy? A name Lavi had never heard before.

“You know, I think he likes you.”

Allen was suddenly beside him, ditching his conversation with Krory and Link in favor of a new one. They both glanced down at the dog, trotting along happily with his tongue out slightly, and golden fur bouncing with every step.

“I’ve grown to like him.” Lavi said. “He’s quite the conversationalist.”

A sweet sound reached his ears when Allen laughed. “Good that means he’s been doing well with his training.”

“Okay, I’ve been meaning to ask someone this since last night and based off the last twenty-four hours, I think you’re my best bet. What can I possibly do to screw around with Kanda?”

“You have a death wish, don’t you?” Allen asked. “Well, Alma tells me his first name is Yuu and he hates it when people call him that. Even Alma can’t get away with it every time.”

“This information pleases me.”

“Just make sure I’m not around you when you call him that. It’s not like you’ve talked to anyone else, so I’m going to be second on his list of people to kill. Right between you and Alma.”

Lavi nodded. “Sure thing. So, Mr. Versatile, what is your weapon of choice for this mission?”

Allen shrugged off one strap of his book bag to remove a crowbar. “This for a back-up when I run out of bullets for this.” He held up a pistol with a silencer. Dropping the crowbar into his bag and fixing the bag properly on his back again, he shoved the pistol under the waistband of his jeans. Allen had just released the handle of the gun when Lavi grabbed his wrist, pulling them both to a stop.

“What?”

He raised a finger to his lips, surveying their surroundings. They were out in the open. The path was fairly large, enough for one car to fit comfortably. A light breeze traveled through the air. The rest of their group were ahead, but they stopped when they realized two of them weren’t right behind. Lavi picked up on Timcanpy’s behavior. The dog must’ve heard what Lavi heard.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re about to have company.” He answered. “So we need to either prepare to put up a fight or hide until they pass.”

Allen took a second to comprehend that and decide what to do. He twisted out of Lavi’s grasp, instead taking his wrist and pulling him along as he ran up to the rest of the group. Timcanpy gave them a head start before following.

“What’s going on?” Lenalee asked.

“Zombies are about to show up. It’s fight or hide. What’s the action?” Allen said.

The four of them glanced between each other.

“How many?” Link asked.

Allen looked to Lavi for this. “Enough for each of us to be plenty busy.”

He could feel them all staring at him but he wasn’t concerned with that, busying himself with twisting the sledgehammer around to find the perfect grip. “We need to do something people. Either weapons at the ready or pick a tree to climb.”

That’s when he felt Allen’s fingers sliding off of his wrist. He couldn’t get caught up in that right now. A hoard was about to rain down on them. Lavi wasn’t the only one deciding to pick a fight with the incoming undead. His comrades readied their weapons, Allen pulling out the crowbar just enough so he could easily reach it if he ran out of bullets. Timcanpy was fixed on the part of the woods they were standing in front of when Lavi first heard them coming. He held the sledgehammer with both hands, ready to go wild.

A branch snapped and his heart stilled so his focused was wholly on the enemy. A single zombie limped out of the trees and onto the road. It paused, probably smelling them. Allen’s raised gun appears in his peripheral. Lavi held up a finger. Not yet. Let him get closer. He didn’t know how well Allen could aim and a strong weight in his chest told him they couldn’t waste the bullets. They watched it approach, agonizingly slow. When Lavi was satisfied with its distance, he signaled for Allen to shoot it. The loudest sound was its body hitting the ground. Almost immediately after, another body slammed on the ground. He dared to glance over his shoulder to find Lenalee with one foot on a zombie’s chest, bringing a machete down hard on its head. Damn…

The wrath of hell crashed on them a breath later.

The horde came through the trees and it was time to take action. Instinct took over and he ran at the nearest zombie, landing the sledgehammer swing perfectly and bringing it down. He didn’t waste any time going after the next few without second thought. From the side of his eye he saw Allen trip over the body of a dead zombie. Unfortunately, the zombie he was aiming at fell on top of him. _Out of bullets_ was written all over his face. There was no way he would reach that stupid crowbar. Lavi sprang into action, pulling the axe from his belt loop and swiftly lodging it in the being’s skull. He pulled the zombie off of him and helped him to his feet, spinning to kill another one when Allen was stable. Lavi turned around last minute to get a face full of blood as Allen slammed his trusty crowbar into the thing’s skull. Yanking his headband down, he wiped his face off as best he could.

“Thanks.” Lavi breathed.

“Any time.”

The sound of heavy breathing reached Lavi and he looked around, finding the zombies dead and the group tired. He bent forward, hands on his knees, finally finding the time to breathe. A hand rested on his shoulder. Gray eyes met his accompanied by a reassuring smile.

“Are you okay?”

Straightening, Lavi wiped off the head of his axe on his jeans. “Yeah. You? You kind of lost your balance.”

“I had less bullets than I thought.” Allen admitted sheepishly. “Thank you, by the way.”

“Versatile…”

Allen glared at him, but the smile only grew.

They checked up with the group, made sure everyone was okay. Timcanpy was as chipper as ever, wagging his tail while waiting for us to move on.

After gathering their senses and their breaths they returned on their way, spirits slowly rising the more they walked.

Allen walked close to Lavi. “I have to ask, how did you know they were coming?”

He shrugged. “It’s a skill I’ve picked up. The Old Panda and I are usually on the road alone so I’ve learned the unmistakable noises they make. It’s harder the more people you’re with but that was a fairly large group.”

“Impressive.”

Lavi cocked his head. “More impressive than being versatile in weapon ability?”

Allen playfully shouldered him, their fingers brushing. Lavi’s heart skipped a beat. Why? This was just Allen, some guy he met last night. Some guy who didn’t know how many bullets he carried with him. The same guy who took him to his favorite spot to sit alone only minutes after meeting him. The same guy who saved his life. He was getting ahead of himself. Allen did it as a ‘thank you’ for Lavi saving him. But Lavi couldn’t deny the little flutter his heart did at the small physical contact.

_This can’t be good._

The rest of their mission was a success with only a couple more run-ins with zombies but nothing larger than the first one. They made it back in plenty of time—by dinner the next day—with a bag full of canned food and several first aid kits. It appeared that no one had been there for a long time. Dust had formed on the pews and alters, so they felt fine about taking the items.

Late that night, Lavi found himself searching for Allen. He scolded himself the whole time his heart sank every time he failed to find him. The last place he decided to look, which really should have been the first, was the cliff. Finally reaching the top of the hill and clearing the woods, he found no sign of Allen. He sighed walking to the edge and looking out at the vast expanse of the world. It truly was beautiful and so peaceful up here. No wonder Allen loved it so much.

Something suddenly grabbed his hand and the moment he turned around prepared to fend off a zombie, he felt a soft pair of lips meet his. Eye wide, he saw the white hair and the scar over the left eye. _Allen…_

Lavi settled just as Allen pulled away.

“Sorry,” Allen whispered. He was still holding Lavi’s hand. “I don’t know what it is about you, but—”

“I know,” Lavi interrupted. “I feel the same way. I don’t understand it, and it probably isn’t the smartest move. I don’t care.”

He rested his forehead against Allen’s, enjoying this moment because they both knew it would be one of few.


End file.
